kcobean

Awesome. Thanks!

I'm a lefty so options #2 and #3 aren't available to me. Using my left index finger to release the slide is an iffy proposition (even more so since I amputated the tip of that finger last year), so weak hand release is what I do.

Always.

It seems like every time I start a dry fire regimen, my match performance drops, so I stop. Yesterday was particularly bad. I had a lot of trouble hitting mini-poppers and plates at probably no more than 20-25 yards and I had at least 2 hard-cover Mikes. I've really been dry-firing consistently since the weeks leading up to the A8 Championship, so about 6 weeks I guess. A local GM gave me some good advice, which was to not stop, push through it. Treat it like a plateau. I guess time will tell. I was also very tired yesterday. I had gone and hauled a bunch of tile and stuff for a bathroom re-model on Saturday and was busy all day. Could just be coincidence I suppose.

I've really been trying to be consistent about dry-firing 4+ times per week, for at least 30 minutes per session. I shot a match today and honestly it was probably the worst shooting I've done in a long time. I was having trouble with front sight acquisition and focus on the long field courses and I couldn't hit the distance steel to save my life. I don't know if there's a relationship between my increased dry fire regimen and my trouble today, but it was very frustrating. Anyone else experience this?

225gr .40? I'd think at that weight and a 1.18 OAL you've got to be heading into compressed load territory, yes?

How do they work exactly in relation to acting as a slide stop? Does having your thumb on this effectively prevent the slide stop from engaging if you shoot to slide lock?

As I always tell my son, you're ready to shoot the stage when you can stand here with your eyes closed and mentally shoot every shot, every target, make every movement, every reload in sequence without thought. We call this our "Mental Video Recorder" and it prevents having to think about whether you've shot a target or not, which will cost you seconds. In our walk-throughs, our goal is to walk the stage only the number of times required to mentally record our stage plan until we can replay it in our MVR. I only have to know how to execute a stage for a few minutes until that shooting is in the past. So I make that stage plan the thing in my mind until "range is clear". The practice of MVRing the stage, and then executing the plan I've recorded has, for the most part, eliminated having to wonder if I've shot a target or not even on complicated memory stages.

In shooting, blaming others for one's lack of excellence is just denial. Circumstance seems to be a more palatable scape-goat, and is much easier for people to convince themselves of. For example: I have not achieved my shooting goals because I have no place to do live fire. or I have not achieved my shooting goals because I don't have the time to drive to the range frequently enough to have an effective live fire training regimen. These are two that I have said myself. But the reality is, I could join a "local" gun club with outdoor shooting bays that I could practice in, and I could choose to drive 90 minutes each way several times a week to get there. Sometimes, "understanding" means recognizing that "balance" will prevent "excellence". In fact, I'd say that's probably true most of the time. This probably belongs in a different thread, but it did relate to understanding.

Welcome Comrade! LOL

Nope, I don't have the WSB gng4life. We had a stage at a local match that was very similar. Our weak-hand was tied to a tether that prevented its use for freestyle shooting and you had to step out of the FFZ to the rear to reload or risk a 180 violation. The WSB specified strong-hand only for all shots.

Ok, so you're saying that in a course of fire that *could* be shot entirely freestyle, the WSB may not stipulate anything more than the final 6 shots as single-handed, but you can use props and such to force an entire stage to be strong or weak hand only? I guess in this case "stipulate" is a bit vague.

Rule 1.1.5.4 says "Medium or Long courses of fire may stipulate the use of either strong hand or weak hand, provided that only one hand, either strong or weak, is specified for no more than the last 6 shots required." So here's a stage from the 2012 Area 3 Championships. Is this stage, which is 16 rounds, strong hand only with 8 shots, reload, 8 shots, a legal stage? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umE_ZpJsHp4&feature=youtu.be&t=3m51s

I used it all the time for .40 w/200. No problem starting at 3.9. I believe I ended up at 4.2, but all barrels are different. Awesome. Thanks. What kind of bullets were you using out of curiosity?

Yeah, the polymer guns like shorter OALs (around spec, which is 1.135). My STI loves longer OAL...I'm loading 200 grain Bayous or Blue Bullets to 1.185 and it cycles like butter. When I tried to shoot some of my XDm ammo at 1.13, it was very "clunky". Conversely, the 1.18 OAL rounds won't even fit in my XDm mags. If you like the 2011 platform and can't load those Lee bullets any longer, you will probably want to consider a longer bullet. And even then, if it's a standard conical wad-cutter profile, it may still give you feed problems. The round nose bullets are sweet.

Our clarifications from NROI have all said that as long as it matches the factory part, you can use it. This matches the factory part. Well, I stand corrected then. That sure makes an RO's job hard though, doesn't it? That ruling was under John, I have a message in to Troy to verify that he will rule the same way. There is no real way for a RO to know who made the part if they are identical, and that was the logic used in the past. The XD 45 part is metal, so we really are just offering a metal part because SA won't sell them. Makes perfect sense. I can't see Troy ruling the other way (or why he'd revisit the previous ruling in the first place).

I got my hands on 8 lbs of Ramshot comp and need to work up a Major PF load for .40 using 200 grain bullets. I'm using 3.9 grains of N320 currently (which I love) and based on which burn-rate chart you look at, Competition is similar. Does it sound safe to start at 3.6 grains and go up based on chrono results?

Absence of ego, a teachable mind, and unfiltered observation. Barring these, constant exposure to a concept or idea. At some point, understanding seeps past ego and presumption and an epiphay occurs. It makes you wonder how much faster we could learn if we could approached it with the innocence of a child.

Our clarifications from NROI have all said that as long as it matches the factory part, you can use it. This matches the factory part. Well, I stand corrected then. That sure makes an RO's job hard though, doesn't it?

This is why I use the powder-check die in station 3 on my Dillon XL650. I've already had one nasty hand injury, I sure as hell don't need another. Green, really glad your came out of this ok, and I hope SA is able to get you back up and running.

Per Appendix D4 Item 21.6, this would not be Production Legal: "Any other components which are externally visible may ONLY be replaced with OFM parts which are offered on the specific model of gun or another approved gun from the same manufacturer except as specifically clarified below. Examples of external components which may only be replaced with OFM parts include (but are not limited to): magazine releases, slide stops, thumb safeties and triggers." OFM = Original Firearm Manufacturer. Sure is a purdy lookin' trigger though.

I'm a lefty who's been running an XDm for a few years now with an extended mag release on the right side of the gun. I recently picked up a 2011 and it's quite the adjustment to have to release the mag with my left index finger. Fortunately, my mag release spring is light enough that it's not a problem, but it's gonna take some retraining to get used to it. I'm not aware of a right-side conversion out there for the 2011. I'd probably buy one if there was.

Git 'er done and see ya on the range (proverbially speaking.

The most important thing is direction. Even quiet awareness is done with and for a purpose. We were not meant to be truly idle.

As I read the quote in the OP, I thought to myself "understanding". There is much we can do or not do, there is quiet mind, there is focus, seeing, and on and on, but unless you understand what any of it means, then it is lost. Here's a perfect example: I shot with an area director once, and he said "much of this sport is about conservation of movement". I nodded my head and said "yup", but it wasn't for a year or two that I really understood the wisdom in that statement. Another example is the phrase "press the trigger". There is a lot of wisdom in the choice of the word "press" versus all of the other possible verbs that could be used. It's still something I am trying to implement without thought, but there is much to be understood about that phrase, I believe. Understanding - it is the catalyst that makes knowledge valuable.